Police officers are taught that all sorts of nasty surprises can come in motor vehicles. Fugitives, drug runners, illegal aliens, and belligerent drunks are just a few of the unpleasant possibilities that can occur at a traffic stop. Sometimes, there are warning signs; sometimes, there aren't. To make matters worse, a person in the vehicle being pulled over may be armed and may decide to be confrontational at some point during the traffic stop. In some cases, the police officer may just be in for a hard time and a few harsh words from the violator; and at other times, his or her life may actually be in danger.
In a typical nighttime traffic stop, an officer alerts the driver of the subject vehicle to pull over. Thereafter, the officer directs the illumination from the police vehicle spotlight at the rearview mirror of the subject's vehicle. The officer then exits his vehicle to inform the driver of the subject vehicle why he or she is being pulled over and thereafter receives the subject's registration and driver's license to begin writing the ticket at the police car. Once in the police car, the officer again ensures that the spotlight of the police vehicle is directed toward the rearview mirror of the subject vehicle. In this fashion, the driver of the subject vehicle is prevented from seeing what the officer is doing in the vehicle via the rearview mirror of the subject vehicle. This will prevent a driver having bad intentions from planning a sneak attack on the police officer while the officer is distracted when running a computer check or is writing a ticket.
However, under the above-described circumstances, the reflection from the rearview mirror of the subject's vehicle doesn't completely prevent the driver or passengers of the stopped vehicle from approaching the law enforcement vehicle and surprising an officer who is busy writing a ticket or running a computer check on the stopped vehicle. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means to alert an officer during a nighttime traffic stop to potential danger from a violent motorist who wants to inflict harm upon the officer while the officer is writing a traffic ticket in the police vehicle.